10 minutes with Viktoria Modesta

Latvian-born Viktoria Modesta (VM) is a bionic artist exploring modern identity through performance, fashion, avant-garde visuals, technology and science. Never constrained by her physicality, in 2012 VM starred in a key performance at the Paralympic closing ceremony, directed by Kim Gavin. It was broadcast LIVE to over a billion viewers worldwide.

In 2014, VM collaborated with CHANNEL4 to fill the gap between pop aesthetic, art and disability representation within the media. They created a music video/film campaign that would take the world by storm generating over 100 million views worldwide. ‘Prototype’, directed by Saam Farahmand, and part of the #bornrisky season, became a milestone in the cultural perception of a new disability identity.

10 minutes with Viktoria…

What was your first job?

Shop assistant

What was your worst job?

Telemarketing

What achievement are you most proud of?

Establishing a benchmark in the intersection of pop culture, disability and technology.

What’s your greatest fear for the creative and cultural sector?

The big flat NOW. Access to information and online sharing of work is mutating the creative industry in mysterious ways.

What’s your superpower? (A thing you do better than most!)

Interpreting the impact of innovation from a poetic human perspective without speculation, I am my own experiment.

What motivates you every day?

Curiosity, growth, sharing knowledge in a socially impactful way.

What was the best piece of early career advice you received from a mentor?

To see past conditioning and create your own reality.

What advice of your own would you give to an aspiring or emerging leader?

Follow your core values.

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Viktoria Modesta will be taking part in The Big Debate at Emerging Futures 2018, where we ask the question “In a world crying out for social justice and ecological care, how can cultural and creative leaders harness the enormous progressive potential that innovation holds?”